Building with Aircrete
Hi. I’m a fairly exerienced DIYer and my father was an architect who taught me how to build houses. I’ve built 1 and renovated several. I’m now hoping to build a home. It will be in the countryside but has access to a local power grid. Water is from a mountain source (turned off when it rains so as to prevent entry of mud!). My question is whether or not aircrete is a sensible choice of building material. I have to include rebar in the walls (locals will literally dig through an unreinforced wall and rebar also helps proof against hurricanes). My land will likely be a 30 degree gradient beside a narrow unmetaled road (I need to ensure the road doesn’t collapse onto my land if the house is just 3′ away from the road.) The climate is sub-tropical so no snow but we can have frost in winter. Summuers are very warm at most, not hot. We get seasnal rain that can be torrential (tropical). I want a two-storey house witha flat roof (to be used as well). 2nd storey floor would be expected to be wood. Will aircrete used to form blocks (like concrete blocks that are typically oblong and with two vertical cavities) be suitable? There are no building standards I have to comply to! If an alternative would be better, I’d be pleased for a suggestion. Thanks.
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Replies
Paulindr,
I'm guessing that you aren't building in the U.S. It's usually a good idea to build with locally available materials, so it would be helpful to us if you identify the country where you are building.
Airkrete is a rarely used insulation material with a fairly poor reputation. It cannot be made into blocks for construction purposes, since it its crumbly. Enter "Airkrete" into the GBA search box for more information on Airkrete.
The only use of "Airkrete" that I'm aware of is in the stud cavities of
Al Gore's house!
I've never figured out why!
AirKrete is not a structural material, and not dense enough to use as such. Denser concrete in thin layers with wire reinforcement over an EPS core works pretty well in climates like that:
https://www.google.com/search?q=scip+construction&rlz=1C1RNBN_enUS567US579&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgi-mgpMbYAhUK7lMKHYp2DD4Q_AUICygC&biw=1220&bih=791
There are many vendors out there- do a web search on "SCIP" construction.
Cellular concrete may be an option: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96lrXFNf_k0